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The kitchen’s open design leads to the home’s breakfast room.
y design philosophy is very simple,” begins George Dumitru, the founder and principal architect of his eponymous design firm, Studio
Dumitru. “We don’t build houses. We build homes.” Over the decades he has served the Westport, CT, community, those words have become more than just a mission statement: they are the mantra he applies to every project. To that end, he encourages his clients to be fully engaged in all aspects of their home’s design and construction. So when George was approached by a family looking to build their dream home featuring a show-stopping library worthy of their beloved collection of rare titles, he jumped at the chance to create a once-in-a-lifetime space. “The clients were repeat customers of mine who were relocating in the area,” George explains. “They were very knowledgeable about what they wanted, so I knew we would be able to collaborate on something special.”
Great Expectations
Realizing that putting together this project would take more than his 66
skilled hands, George reached out to the construction management group at Jablonski Associates to assist him. The award-winning team had built a stellar portfolio of luxury homes over the past three decades, so George knew their expertise would be a great fit for the client’s specific requests. Plus, George and Jablonski had joined forces on similar projects in the past, to great success. Still, despite their excellent working history, George wasn’t initially sure whether Jablonski would be available to work with him on this venture. Lucky for George, the builders were more than willing to reconnect. “George and I have definitely worked well together in the past, so I was really eager once I heard the initial plans,” explains Jeremi Jablonski, a third-generation builder and the owner of Jablonski Associates. “What attracted me was that the client wanted something very unique. It was to be a low-key, very casual home. And yet it would have lots of character.” Together, the two men worked closely with the homeowners to design a space that would more or less become a casual oasis for family and friends. After reviewing the footprint of the rest of the neighborhood, the team settled on a classic style that once served as the epitome of modern American design in the late 1800s: shingle-style architecture.
A Treasured Past
These uniquely crafted homes, once a common sight along the New England coastline, were especially popular with the area’s jet-set crowd towards the end of the 19th century. Today, shingle-style
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